The room was silent except for the soft hum of Molly’s computer. Max stared at the screen, the single word “The Architects” glowing like a specter in the dim light. His chest tightened. The Council had been powerful—terrifyingly so—but if they were disposable, then what kind of power did these Architects wield?Molly’s fingers moved swiftly over the keyboard, breaking through layers of encryption left behind by Graves. The more she uncovered, the deeper the shadows seemed to stretch.Emily, sitting beside Max, rubbed her temples. “This doesn’t feel like an enemy we can fight the way we fought the Council.”Max’s jaw tightened. “We’re about to find out.”A final keystroke from Molly, and the file unlocked. A series of coded messages, historical records, and classified intelligence sprawled across the screen.Max leaned in, eyes scanning the text."The Architects existed long before the Secret Council. Before governments, before global economies, before nations even understood power, we

The Zurich air was sharp and cold, the kind that cut deep into your lungs with every breath. Midnight had come and gone, and Max Montgomery stood in the shadows of an abandoned industrial complex, waiting.Emily and Red Fang flanked him, both tense. Molly monitored their surroundings through a portable device, tracking movement within a five-mile radius.The message had been clear: Follow the red signal.A faint red glow pulsed from a rooftop ahead.“She’s here,” Max murmured.Emily’s fingers tightened around the grip of her pistol. “Let’s hope she’s not leading us into an ambush.”Red Fang snorted. “Oh, we’re walking into an ambush, alright. Question is, whose?”They moved swiftly, scaling the metal staircase to the rooftop where the red glow flickered from a small transmitter. A lone figure stood by the edge, her posture relaxed but alert.Luciana Dantes.She was older than Max expected, mid-forties, elegant but hardened. Dark eyes, sharp features, and a presence that demanded atten

The air inside the private jet was thick with tension. The GPS coordinates Luciana had given them were clear—Tokyo. Beneath the city, buried under layers of secrecy, lay a vault that could hold the answers they needed.Max sat in the cockpit, his fingers tapping against the armrest. His mind was still processing Luciana’s death, the betrayal at the safe house, and the fact that they were now flying straight into a hornet’s nest.Red Fang leaned against the cabin wall, arms crossed. “Tell me again why we’re trusting a dead woman’s final clue?”Molly’s voice crackled through their comms. “Because it’s all we have. The Architects erased Luciana because she knew something. And whatever’s in that vault is what they don’t want us to find.”Elliot, seated across from Max, smirked. “We better find it fast, then. We’ve already pissed them off enough.”Max exhaled. The Architects didn’t just eliminate threats. They erased them. And now, they were about to walk straight into one of their most cl

The paper in Max’s hands felt heavier than it should. The Global Selection Initiative – Phase IV wasn’t just another classified document—it was a blueprint for something far worse than he had imagined.“Survival is not a right. It is a choice.”Max read the words again, his pulse hammering. This wasn’t just about controlling governments. The Architects were deciding who lived and who didn’t.Emily stepped closer, her voice hesitant. “Max… what does it say?”He exhaled slowly, then handed her the document. “They’re choosing who gets to survive.”Emily’s face paled as she skimmed the contents. “What the hell does that even mean?”Molly sat cross-legged on the ground, her fingers flying over her laptop. “Give me a second—I need to see if this is just a proposal or if they’ve already started.”Red Fang ran a hand through his blood-matted hair. “We just blew up their damn vault. You really think they’re gonna let us dig into this?”Max’s grip tightened. “They don’t have a choice.”Molly’s

Max sat in the dimly lit study, his father’s message still echoing in his head."If you fight them, they will use everything against you—including the people you love."The weight of those words pressed against his chest like a vice. The Architects had shaped history, controlled evolution, and erased threats before they ever became problems.And now, he had a choice.Destroy them completely—trigger a war that would rip the world apart.Or infiltrate them—take their power, and rewrite the rules himself.Elliot paced near the fireplace, his expression dark. “There’s no way in hell we let them live, Max. We wipe them out. No negotiations, no deals.”Red Fang leaned against the bookshelf, arms crossed. “And how do you propose we do that, genius? They’re not a single organization. They’re a system. A shadow network that’s been running the world for centuries.”Elliot turned on him. “So what? We just let them keep playing god?”Max didn’t respond. He was still running the numbers in his hea